Fifty teens involved in fight leading up to Moline shooting

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MOLINE, Illinois-- People living near 25th Street, just off Avenue of the Cities, say they've never seen anything like what they saw Wednesday afternoon.

Nearly a dozen Moline squad cars and several Illinois State Police officers were on the scene of a shooting.

"I don't know what to say about it," said Leah Benjamin, who lives in the area. "I don't know what to think about it."

Police said 50 to 60 high-school-aged students were fighting near the intersection of 25th Street and 16th Avenue when shots were fired. One person was sent to the hospital with "a superficial wound," possibly from a bullet.

Police said the group of teens may have been the same group of students fighting earlier in the day. Witnesses said that fight happened at Optimist Park just a few blocks away. Moline police responded and broke up the disturbance.

"I saw a bunch of kids coming down the street..." Benjamin said. "Within like ten or fifteen minutes, everyone was fighting, and the cops pulled up, trying to resolve the issue."

Police are still trying to determine why the fight broke out, interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence.

"Honestly, I don't know what they're upset about," Sgt. Eli Soliz said. "But obviously they're upset and they followed through with whatever they wanted to do."

Moline Police took a bat from the scene, and neighbors said rocks and two-by-fours were dropped in their alley that afternoon.

"Kind of freaked me out because we've lived for three years in this area," Powell said. "It just seems like, in the last couple of months, there's been serious stuff going on, and it gets kind of scary."

Moline Detective Michael Griffin said they don't believe the violence is specifically related to the Moline neighborhood near Logan Elementary School, but was more likely where this group of teens decided to meet.